Albert Ellis American Psychologist - Essay Example

? Albert Ellis American Psychologist ID: Dr. Albert Ellis is an American psychologist that has had a significant impacton the field of psychology, providing a new, effective approach to helping people to correct negative thoughts and behavioral patterns. Ellis’s approach was unique, and evolved not from scientific testing but from his own personal experiences. One of the earliest examples of this was that at the age of 19, he was determined to get past his own repressive shyness and did so by setting himself the task of talking to each women who sat alone in a particular task. This approach helped him to get past his shyness, and was the beginnings of his insight into psychological processes (Hurley, 2004). Although he was and remains renowned as a psychologist, perhaps the most influential that has lived, even after his death in 2007 (REBT Network, 2007), this was not his only achievement, he was also well known as a sexologist, and is considered to be a founder of the sexual revolution in America (Hurley, 2004). In addition, he practiced marriage and family counseling, psychotherapy and sex therapy for more than 60 years, as well as being responsible for the development of a charitable organization to promote his form of therapy (REBT Network, 2007).   Born in 1913, Ellis first began working in the field of psychology in the 1940’s at Columbia University and remained active in the psychology field throughout his life. Although Ellis was trained in Sigmund Freud’s techniques of psychoanalysis, he felt that that was not an effective method of approaching psychotherapy and favored the use of a direct and instructive approach. Ellis’s psychological perspective was based around the concept that it is not the unconscious or a person’s past that causes behaviors and feelings, but instead that these factors are driven by thoughts. This approach was eventually termed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) (NACBT, 2007). Ellis believed that psychotherapy does not need to be a long, drawn out process, that anyone has the ability to change their life, and that usually medication is not needed. This belief was substantially different than other psychoanalysts of his time, who perceived the length of the psychoanalytic process to be necessary (Hurley, 2004). His psychological theory was strongly clinically based; it was not centered on the idea of determining the internal drivers for a person’s thoughts, but instead of determining methods to influence the impact these thoughts have on behavior. His approach was radical, and strong. Rather than working slowly through issues with patients, Ellis preferred a faster, more direct approach. This involved patients becoming desensitized to their phobias through repeated exposure, and directing their thoughts towards positive, rather than negative perspectives. One aspect of this that Ellis strongly promoted was the concept of believing that the best will happen, but if things go wrong, so what, it is not the end of the world. Ellis was a significant contributor to the field of psychology and authored more than 75 books on cognitive-behavioral therapy, some self-help and others professional. The development of his REBT was one of his greatest contributions to the field (NACBT, 2007). This theory was the first cognitive therapy to be developed, and paved the way for other cognitive approaches to be taken. Ellis’s contributions also extended into clinical and theoretical innovations and many of these have become standard throughout psychology (Velten, 2007, pp. i-iv). For example, the use of homework assignments for treating anxiety disorders, as well as in cognitive behavior therapy in general originally extended from the work of Ellis. Ellis believed that the use of homework assignments between sessions was an important aspect of therapy (Velten, 2007, p. 53). Ellis’s contributions to the field of psychology were substantial and significant, even though not all of these are widely recognized. Many of the innovations that occurred in psychological treatment were taken from or inspired by Ellis’s work, yet are not attributed to him (Velten, 2007, pp. i-iv). Despite this, many of Ellis’s other contributions are well known. It has been argued that Ellis’s most significant contribution was the concept that the irrational thoughts that a person has are a significant aspect of the way that humans act, in turn creating an effective form of behavioral therapy (Bryan, 2009, p. 69). Ellis’s contributions to psychology went well beyond his own theories, and was the beginning of the cognitive-behavioral approach that remains a dominating factor in psychotherapy in the present day (Green, 2003). Both in his own time and currently, Ellis was viewed as the leader in his field and a substantial contributor. He was well known not only for his contributions to psychology, but also due to some aspects of his behavior. In particular, he was fond of using profanity to express a point or to make what he said memorable. Another aspect was that he was generous. Despite the high amount that was gained from his work and books, Ellis lived on a salary of $12,000 a year, donating the rest to the operation of his own non-profit organization (NACBT, 2007). In 1982, he was recognized as the author most frequently cited out of works published after 1956. Furthermore, within the same year, a survey of clinical psychologists considered him to be the psychotherapist with the second highest influence, with the first place winner being Carl Rogers. However, his ideas were not initially accepted by psychiatrists and psychologists, who perceived his approach to be superficial, arguing that therapy needs to be a drawn out process (Hurley, 2004). Ellis died in 2007 (REBT Network, 2007) and is perceived to be one of the major icons for psychology in the 20th century (Hurley, 2004). Ellis is considered to be currently considered to be one of the most crucial contributors to psychology, and argued to have had more influence on the field than significant names such as B.F. Skinner, Carl Jung or even Sigmund Freud (REBT Network, 2007). Ellis’s approach to psychology relied on scientific experiments much less than his contemporaries (Hurley, 2004). Many of his ‘experiments’ were actually homework that he prescribed to himself while he was growing up, in an attempt to fix some of his own emotional issues. He termed some of these shame-attacking exercises, where he forced himself to do something, even though it terrified him, He argued that this was in vivo desensitization, and that over time the person (himself) would become desensitized to the fear. One example of this was when Ellis was 19 years of age, a leader within a radical political group, but was terrified of public speaking. He forced himself to constantly speak in public, and observed that his fear began to dissipate as a result (Velten, 2007, p. 55). Ellis also ‘confirmed’ his behavioral hypotheses by observing the effects of irrational thought on his patients, and also the success of his approach. One patient that Ellis discusses was phobic against public transportation, the more he talked or thought about it, the higher his anxiety and discomfort was. Ellis and the patient agreed that the patient would ride the subway once a day, a concept that was terrifying to the patient. This approach was successful, although the first trips were highly difficult for the patient (Ellis, 1995, pp. 110-111). It is on the basis of these types of experiments, rather than traditional scientific approaches, that Ellis argued for his method of therapy Personally, I find Ellis a fascinating individual, and also strongly admire the approach to therapy that he proposed and used. As a person he was different than traditional psychologists, and his use of language to emphasize points indicates that he did not feel the need to follow conventions just because they were believed to be the correct in terms of society. His psychological approaches tend not to consider the underlying causes of negative thoughts, which means that they may not be suitable for all patients. For example, if a person has a certain thought pattern because of a negative relationship with a parent or a particular event in their past, attempting to adjust the way that they think is not a long-term solution, as the thoughts are likely to reemerge, or the problem appear in a different way. In cases like this, it would be important to address the issue using deeper psychological methods first. However, Ellis’s approach has the potential to alter thoughts and behavior for many people, and has the ability to break people out of thought patterns and phobias in a more effective ways than other types of therapy. References Bryan, W. V. (2009). The professional healper: The fundamentals of being a helping professional Ellis, A. (1995). Better, deeper and more enduring brief therapy: The rational emotive behavior therapy approach. New York, NY: Brunner/Mazel, Inc. Green, A. (2003, October 13). The human condition: ageless, guiltless Retrieved August 4, 2012, from http://www.kevinfitzmaurice.com/counsel_ellis_new_yorker.htm Hurley, D. (2004, May 4). From therapy's Lenny Bruce: Get over it! Stop whining! Scientist at Work Retrieved August 4, 2012, from http://www.rebt.ws/recentarticles.html NACBT. (2007). Dr. Albert Ellis has died Retrieved August 4, 2012, from http://www.nacbt.org/Albert-Ellis.htm REBT Network. (2007). Dr. Albert Ellis, creater of psychology's cognitive revolution Retrieved August 4, 2012, from http://www.rebtnetwork.org/updates/obituary_albert_ellis.html Velten, E. (Ed.). (2007). Under the influence: Reflections of Albert Ellis in the work of others. Tucson, AZ: See Sharp Press, LLC. Read More